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4 out of 5 stars

Time Out says

4 out of 5 stars

In a roomier space than José Piizarro's original restaurant up the street, mostly traditional Spanish dishes prepared with immense care and skill.

José Pizarro’s restaurant continues in the style set in his tapas bar, José, up the street, but in a much more roomy and therefore less hectic space, though it also fills up on weekend evenings. Menus are more extensive than at the tapas-only José, though you won’t find the sort of intricate cooking that has made some Spanish chefs world-famous, but rather a selection of mostly traditional dishes prepared with immense care and skill, and the finest ingredients available; in this way, Pizarro is a master in bringing the familiar alive. A flawless gazpacho from a good-value lunch menu, for example, was delectably smooth and without a hint of excess acidity. Catalan-style cannelloni with spinach and pine nuts was ideal Mediterranean comfort food; it’s hard to rave about spinach, but this was an exceptional dish, with darts of sweetness from supreme-quality raisins. An expertly slow-braised beef stew was an exemplar of multi-layered flavour. New for 2013 is the Sunday breakfast menu, served until early afternoon. The space artfully combines old-Spanish touches – tiles, warm wood, exposed brick – with a stripped-down New Bermondsey look, with snug booths for relaxed eating and bar-style seating facing the street. Abundant friendly staff work hard to keep the buzzy atmosphere going. Wines are as well-chosen as the produce, and very decently priced.

Pizarro’s restaurant is a very friend that serves excellent Spanish food. The Spanish sweet dried cured ham was absolutely delicious. Good food and drink. I love the Spanish omelette and the fish. The restaurant is quite spacious and the service is friendly.

Had table booked on 2/11 @ 14.30 for my partner's birthday ... amazing meal, fantastic wine & sherry ... excellent service. Can you send me a photo of the Fernando de Castilla sherry bottle that we had @ £6.50 a glass ... it was fantastic!!! :)

AllyD,
That Jamon Iberico fo £20 it is very cheap!! I think you have to go to Spain more often to learn.....
I'm local and it was sad to see Bermondsey Kitchen gone, But compare with Pizarro.... Yes you have to learn about food!

Possibly the best pork I've ever had (there's no way of writing that without sounding rude!) - the menu is refreshingly brief too, if that means every dish is done as carefully and beautifully as mine then that's a clear benefit.
Re portion size, I only had a main and I was stuffed - plenty of food!
Also, the waiters recommended some incredible red wine and exactly the kind of sherry I was after (their list is extensive).

I've eaten here several times already and everything has been spot-on. Everything is prepared with great care. The staff are knowledgeable and welcoming, and the cava, sherries and wines are delicious. There is every type of seating you could want, including bar seats overlooking the kitchen. It's perfect.

We loved everything about Pizarro...and we didn't think Jose (the sister tapas bar just up the road) could be bettered. Despite just having opened we didn't note any teething problems - the staff were charming, the welcome warm, the service spot on and - most importantly - the food was perfect. Despite being full we could have eaten the whole meal again, particularly the amazing blue cheese croquetas which were wonderfully oozy and yet in the finest crispy shell you could imagine. And be sure to ask for recommendations of sherry to accompany your meal, they know what they're talking about...

Quite simply the best! Bermondsey St for me is foodie heaven, with Pizarro is the restaurant that I measure all others, relaxed & friendly service with no West End attitude, dishes that are just so wow, great wine, I dine here a minium of once a month, for lunch, evening, with friends, or as a group booking out the back area or room

I've eaten at Jose several times and thought this would be more or less the same thing with more tables and chairs. Not quite. We went there today in the mood for tapas, and I was disappointed to discover that the menu was quite narrow - about 8 tapas or starter size plates, around £6-8 and about 6 main dishes around the £15 mark. What I did try I really enjoyed, however it wasn't necessarily what I would have gone for had I a wider menu to choose from. As with Jose, there is plenty of free sparkling water and the wine and beer by the glass are very reasonably priced. Compared with all the other restaurants on Bermondsey St - Zucca, Delfina, Village East - Pizarro was a little quiet and lacking in atmosphere, however I guess it will take time to build up trade. Watch this space.

FInally managed to get a table at Pizarro now that it is less popular and they have started to take reservations. This may be related to a wider discovery that the emperor has no clothes. Good for drinks and snacks but not a great venue for full meal. The tapas are very good but quite expensive for small portions, the menu is vey limited and there is really no excuse for running out of croquetas by 9pm (from previous reviews it seems this happens regularly). Been there done that, probably won't go again.

This restaurant seemed quite nice to start with. However, we ordered a special from the list of items on the board, all of which were £5-15 per dish. On receiving the bill we discovered that the gambas were £45 for five of them baked in salt. They were tasteless and the flesh was mushy. Why was this plain dish so expensive? A reply was not forthcoming. A very disappointing experience.

Just average... Spanish food at its best can often be simple, elegant and uncomplicated, our meal was quite lacking in flavor we had to return the sea bass which was too dry and over cooked, and frankly tasted old, although the manager did come and apologise - he was a little patronising claiming they were so busy they picked up fresh fish everyday... I should think so too! So was not really impressed with his explanation. On the plus side they were very keen to replace the main dish with an alternative and the rose was very good. Lovely atmosphere and on the whole very helpful and polite staff, just a shame the food does not quite match the decor!

Went there and it was a horrible experience!
First we needed to beg for drinks and they came after food. We asked for some bread (the only good thing in the restaurant) and they never gave (apparently there is one slice of bread per person ONLY). My fish was inedible (literally). My friend had a raw tiny pigeon for £13 and horrible wine (we couldn't finish our meal). If you are a masochist then go there, otherwise avoid it!